Posted on 05/09/2014 9:47:55 AM PDT by Utilizer
Hirschgarten, in the west of Munich, is one of Europe’s biggest beer gardens, with over 8,000 places to sit. It’s a spectacular sight in summer: hundreds of benches as far as the eye can see, trees providing some shelter from the heat, and a vast number of people relaxing and enjoying the city’s famous beers.
But while 8,000 is an impressive number, it’s not as impressive as 15,000. That’s how many people the Munich city council has switched from Windows to Linux over the last decade. Migrating workers of Germany’s third-largest city was no easy task and there were plenty of hurdles along the way, but by and large the project has been a storming success. ...
...“Back in 2001, a member of the Munich city council asked: are there any alternatives to using Microsoft software? And based on that question, we put out a tender for a study, which compared five platform options. One was purely Microsoft-based, one was Windows with OpenOffice, one was Linux with OpenOffice, and so forth.”
As the study progressed, two main options emerged as choices for the council: remaining with a purely Microsoft solution, which would involve upgrading existing Windows NT and 2000 systems to XP; and moving to a purely Linux and open source alternative. “If you lay more emphasis on the monetary side, the pure Microsoft alternative would have won, or if you lay the emphasis on the strategic side, the open source alternative was better.”
That was interesting enough – that staying with Microsoft would have been cheaper. Given the cost of buying licences for Windows and Office, you’d think that sticking with Microsoft would’ve cost far more than switching to Linux.
(Excerpt) Read more at linuxvoice.com ...
Also includes link to free PDF explaining the hows and whys of the switch, just in case you would like to send it to any agencies that might benefit from it.
Great article! I loved how Ballmer was challenged by the “negotiating strategy” the Mayor used. This article should be required reading for anyone who lives in fear of the M$ hegemony (and all Apple nuts too, just because).
It is refreshing to use something where money isn't being skimmed to go toward Bill Gates' lefty causes.
I am in the process of switching from Windows XP to Linux. I installed in the first of 3 computers yesterday.
LibreOffice is great
You'll feel better. Really.
All police stations in France are switching too
Those high-pressure sales tactics never worked whenever I was forced to deal with them. Good on them for not bowing to his bluster.
Why did it took so long ?Fear ?
Loathing ?
A couple of caveats though...
My flatbed scanner only has windows compatability and I didn't want to purchase a new one to replace it so I set it up on an old XP computer (not connected to the 'net) and scan to a thumb drive to use with my linux office programs.
I also ran into an issue with a video card not supported by linux so I just replaced it (cheap) with a newer one that is supported. Once you iron out the little things you'll find linux to be a very stable operating system.
Oh,yeah, by the way, any new computer accessory I purchase has to have a linux compatability logo on it or I don't buy.
Good to know. I wish more people would come to understand that no, they do not HAVE to have the very latest version of MS Office to get the job done. Indeed, MS has historically made later versions of their Office Suite incompatible with earlier files saved in previous versions, so as to “encourage” people to ‘upgrade’.
took ==> take
Of course, there is still FR as well. Don't forget to donate! :)
Most people are simply loathe to change. Which I find extremely annoying because everytime they purchase the latest version of ‘doze they have to re-learn everything anyway! Why not just switch to Linux in the first place and never again be forced to pay someone else for the privilege of painstakingly re-learning how to do things all over again?
I think it is harder for those of us who have a decade of more of using Office than for a new learner. My sons have always used OpenOffice and can use it effortlessly. I still look for things in OpenOffice where I remember them being years earlier in Office.
Dad finally got tired of Windows issues about a year ago and had me set his laptop up to dual boot Windows and Linux.
He never uses the Windows side any more. And he never calls me with problems.
Mom still does. She’s still using Windows.
It may also be worth taking a look at LibreOffice (Post #5) as some of the things on their skinny look like it might even be better than Oracle.
The other reason is because some of the external drives I access are in the NTFS format, and sometimes if a problem develops I have to boot up XP and check the disk twice before I can use it again. Linux even says on the screen I have to do it. Why? Because even after about fifteen years since introducing the standard, MS has STILL not published the specifications for it and apparently never plans to. So, the Linux coders have managed to figure out most of it but get no help whatsoever from the MS pukes.
I’ve been using Linux distros for several years now and very pleased with them. I like the LTS versions (long term support) because you’ll get updates for the 5 year period they run. I also dual boot a few with XP or Windows 7 but rarely have to go back for anything in those.
CGato
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